If the majority of voters choose "yes," then Public Act 4, signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2011, will be reaffirmed. If a majority votes "no," Public Act 4 will be repealed, and, according to state officials, replaced by the law that came before it.

"If the referendum were to be supported by a majority of the voters, (Public Act 72) would also come back," said Michigan Department of Treasury spokesman Terry Stanton. "That's the opinion that has been shared with us by the Michigan attorney general."

The three school districts and four cities in Michigan that have emergency financial managers are already operating under Public Act 72, which dates to 1990. Public Act 4, which changed the title of emergency financial managers to emergency managers, was suspended until the election on Aug. 8, when the State Board of Canvassers certified Proposal 12 for the ballot.

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"It probably makes very little difference for Pontiac," said Mayor Leon Jukowski of the November vote.

"All of the union contracts that could be revised by the use of Public Act 4 have been revised, so going forward, the (emergency financial manager) would continue to have supervision over the city's financial decisions, so I don't really think most people will notice much of a difference at all," Jukowski said.

Proposal 12 was certified for the November ballot at the direction of the Michigan Supreme Court.

The State Board of Canvassers had previously deadlocked on certifying the petition for the Public Act 4 referendum, submitted by the group Stand Up For Democracy, on the question of whether the group's petition language was printed in the font size required by law.

The issue was heard by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which issued a favorable ruling that was then challenged by the intervening group Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, taking the case to the state's high court.

After Public Act 4 was suspended, Lou Schimmel was reappointed as Pontiac's emergency financial manager under Public Act 72.

The Pontiac City Council then passed a resolution seeking to restore the powers it and the mayor had before Pontiac's finances came under state control. Jukowski vetoed the resolution; the council voted to override his veto on Aug. 30.

Pontiac's finances have been under state control since 2009; since then, services such as police and fire protection and the building department have been privatized, and city-owned properties such as the Pontiac Silverdome have been sold.

Lasts year's Public Act 4 had expanded the power of state-appointed emergency managers, adding the ability to break labor contracts, overrule elected officials and more. Schimmel is Pontiac's third emergency manager, following Fred Leeb and Michael Stampfler.

The impact

on schools

"Right now, I'm David and the Governor's Goliath," said Detroit Public Schools Superintendent John Telford.

He was appointed to the position by the Detroit Board of Education in June.

Telford, 76, who has worked in Oakland County school districts including Berkley, Madison Heights and Rochester, is taking a salary of $1 a year at Detroit Public Schools.

Wayne County Circuit Judge John Murphy said in a ruling that the district's Emergency Financial Manager Roy Roberts is a "financial manager only" until the November election, and said the Detroit Board of Education will control "certain areas of pure academics."

"We're doing what we can to follow the letter of the law that he set out and working to collaborate with the board, where it makes sense." The state's other two school districts under emergency financial management, Highland Park and Muskegon Heights, recently contracted with charter schools operators.

Muskegon Heights will be run by Mosaica Education, Inc., and Highland Park will be operated by The Leona Group, LLC.

Under Public Act 72, an emergency financial manager would need a school board's approval to charter a public school district, Michigan Department of Treasury spokesman Stanton said.

"Under Public Act 4, an emergency manager had authority to take the step him or herself, as they had authority over all issues, financial and academic," Stanton said.

Zdrodowski said there are no plans at this time to charter Detroit Public Schools.